"Scientists have for the first time established a link between a primitive, intuitive sense of numbers and performance in math classes, a finding that could lead to new ways to help children struggling in."

"'...a lot of what we are doing when we think mathematically is compressing and transforming information. Seeing a pattern, a shape, instead of all the individual variables that make up the shape is one type of compression.'"

"Halberda cautions against thinking success or failure in school mathematics is entirely genetic and therefore immutable. '[The] ANS is powerful, but it certainly isn't predicting 100% of the variance [in mathematical ability],' he says."

"Approximate number sense, they found, ran the gamut. Some subjects could tell the difference between nine yellow dots and 10 blue ones, where others could barely distinguish four blue dots from six yellow ones."

"[T]he team's research results may ultimately benefit people with dyscalculia, a learning disability that afflicts about one in every 15 people and brings with it innate difficulty in comprehending mathematics and other number-based skills."

"Previous research has shown that an innate sense of numbers is entirely controlled by a non-verbal region of the brain called the intraparietal sulcus.
But to do exact arithmetic and precise calculations, humans require language, which is governed by another part of the brain."

"Though people often think of mathematics as a pinnacle of intellectual achievement of humankind, research reveals that some intuition about numbers, counting and mathematical ability is basic to almost all animals."

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL0937675. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
www.nsf.gov